Aristotle's "modes for persuasion" — otherwise known as rhetorical appeals — are known by the names ethos, pathos and logos. They are tools for persuading others to a particular point of view and are often used in writing and advertising to sway the audience. Aristotle used these three terms to explain how rhetoric works:
Ethos is a means of convincing an audience using the authority or credibility of the persuader, whether it’s a notable or experienced figure in the field or a popular celebrity. Pathos is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response to an impassioned plea or a convincing story. Logos is a way of persuading an audience with reason, using facts, figures and rationale. View & Download PDF Even understanding what ethos, pathos and logos mean, you may have trouble parsing them out. Ethics, emotion and logic are closely intertwined, not siloed off. How you feel affects what you think, and vice versa, and all of it can affect or be affected by your ethics. Ethos in your speech or writing comes from sounding fair or demonstrating your expertise, education or pedigree. Examples of ethos include:
You can see examples of pathos in language that draws on your audience’s emotions:
Many audiences are more prone to turning to logic or practicality, which is where you might use logos. Using logos as an appeal means reasoning with your audience and providing them with facts, statistics, and logic or making historical and literal analogies:
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